From Arnebia euchroma to Marhame-Mafasel medicine: The importance of Iranian traditional medicine in designing new drugs

Persian medicine dating back to ten thousand years, has ability to solving some of the present medical problems. In recent years, many studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of various drugs of Persian medicine on special symptoms and different diseases. Knee osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, consist of inflammation, major joint structural changes, causing pain and functional disability and at least decrees patients’ quality of life. MM ointment according to Persian medicine and reverse pharmacology is consist of Arnebia euchroma. L. This study intends to review these plant and the performed studies, to summarize the process of production of MM ointment and its effectiveness in these disease.

Published sources from reliable Iranian and foreigner journals, books and thesis were used in these article.

A. euchroma from the family of Boraginaceae, distributed in Asia and dry region of Africa. Its prominent components are Shikonin and Alkannin with widespread pharmacologic properties such as anti-inflammation, anti-microbial and anti-cancer effects. According to animal study and some clinical trials on patient with knee osteoarthritis, results showed positive anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of MM ointment on primary knee osteoarthritis.

Honesty and trustworthiness have been observed in using the sources to write the article.

MM ointment containing Arnebia euchroma using Persian medicine and reverse pharmacology with positive anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects on patients with knee osteoarthritis, was more tolerable, with no considerable side effects, it leads to increase the patient quality of life.